This Colossal Concert With George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton Today In 1971

The concert raised $243,418.50, which was given to UNICEF to administer. However, there were complaints about the high price of the album and allegations that there were delays in money from the album sales being sent to help the Bangladeshi refugees. Allen Klein, then an executive at Apple Corps, insisted the company made no money from the album or film and was only recovering its advertising and production costs.

The Los Angeles Times reported that by 1985 nearly $12 million had been sent to Bangladesh for relief. However, the money was tied up in an Internal Revenue Service escrow account for 11 years because the concert organizers had not applied for tax-exempt status. Sales of the DVDs and CDs of the concert continue to benefit the George Harrison Fund for UNICEF.

It was the crowning event of Harrison’s public life, a gesture of great goodwill that captured the moment in history. I read that after the concerts Harrison and Dylan headed back up to Woodstock to Bob’s house, where the two hung out for a few days. Wouldn’t you have just loved to share that journey with them? I bet George and Bob were pretty damn pleased with themselves.

Source: (This Day In Music